Former ISAF deputy new German deputy at MC

“I am looking forward to my new assignment and I am looking forward to working with you,” were the first words of the new German Deputy Director when taking over business at the Marshall Center.

Since February 2010 Maj. Gen. (ret.) Hermann Wachter has been assigned here as the highest representative of the Federal Ministry of Defense, to represent the German interests regarding the Marshall Center’s resident courses and outreach activities.

“I am the oldest amongst the German employees at this center. Age also has its advantages,” General Wachter said. “Once you get older you have less to lose and therefore you can tell the truth.”

This will allow him to get totally involved and to freely speak his mind, he said.

“Together with our American partners we are steering a boat,” he said. “It is important to have a common focus; otherwise the boat starts to rock”.

On board the ship are also about 30 members of the German Army and several civilians. They will support General Wachter and will be on his side during the first months of his time at this bilateral institute.

Settling into his new, multinational tasks will not be difficult for General Wachter. His expertise is based on several international deployments.

In 1966 he entered the Federal Air Force and after several assignments he was deployed in Bavaria at the Antiaircraft Base in Lengries. Among his other assignments General Wachter worked for the German Embassy in London and made contact with the US Central Command in Tampa, Florida.

One of General Wachter’s more challenging assignments was his 2005 assignment as Deputy Commander of the NATO HQ for ISAF in Kabul, Afghanistan.